The 10 rules of new-media marketing success

The first of a four-part series

"Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction."-- The red doorknob, "Alice in Wonderland"

OK, SO they aren't really commandments in the true sense of the word. They weren't written in stone by the finger of God and you won't be struck down by lightning if you break any of them. In fact, we're big rule breakers.

What's important is that when you can learn from those who've gone before you, it'll give you a huge edge over your competitors who don't know any better.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be explaining these Ten Commandments and how they are guiding principles or laws for successfully marketing with "new media." If you break them once, you may not get caught. If you break them over and over again, you'll feel it where it hurts -- your pocketbook, or bottom line.

These commandments are garnered from more than 3,000 hours of research and testing, as well as our own personal experiences. One piece of advice my Dad gave me when I was 12 has stood out for me over the years: "Don't just learn from other people's success stories; you'll learn more from other people's mistakes, so you won't have to make them yourself."

And, we made a lot of mistakes ourselves over the last two years before we came up with these 10 easy-to-follow laws designed to help you further develop your new-media mindset -- while helping you avoid needless mistakes.

Let's start with the first two commandments as they are the easiest to follow:

1. Thou shalt be a market thinker, not a product pusher.

This means you are going to be part of the marketplace without being engulfed by it. The goal is to look for problems people have and solve them.

Contrast that with the typical salesperson or traditional advertising campaign -- all about pushing a product or service, with no regard for the end user.

2. Thou shalt participate and profit without becoming an evangelist.

Observe, participate, and leverage the new-media marketplace without getting caught up in the hype or the technology. You want to always stand guard at the door of your mind while participating. Be careful not to get dragged into the sheep pen again. Many evangelists tend to be hammers and, therefore, see every problem as a nail.

Just like any other idea or technology, when enough people get going in a line, it's just like a flock of sheep headed back to the pen. You need to stay outside of that herd mentality. Instead, constantly innovate with lateral thinking, and continue to have an independent mindset.

Next week we'll talk about marketing as conversation, understanding your target audience, and active and passive listening and observing.

John-Paul Micek is the lead business coach at RPM Success Group Inc. Reach him at JPM@RPMsuccess.com or toll-free at (888) 334-8151.

Deborah Cole Micek, chief executive officer of RPM Success Group, is a business success coach and life strategist. Reach her at DCM@RPMsuccess.com or toll-free at (888) 334-8151.